BoxHAMBURG, N.Y. -- Junior forward
Maurice Mills combined game highs in points (28) and rebounds (13) Saturday and junior guard
Nick Nadeau added a career-high 24 points as Nazareth overcame a 14-point deficit to defeat John Carroll, 85-80, in a non-conference men's basketball game played at the Hilbert College Tournament.
The victory enabled the Golden Flyers to snap a three-game losing streak and to improve to 3-5 overall. John Carroll dropped to 7-3. Nazareth will play again Sunday at 3 p.m. in the championship game against host Hilbert, a 90-71 winner over Potsdam in Saturday's second game.
The Golden Flyers trailed most of the game and didn't take the lead for good, 79-77, until Mills scored his final field goal of the game with 1:38 left. Sophomore
Denzell Jackson added a pair of free throws with 1:22 to go and sophomore
Dan Morse made another foul shot with :37 left to extend Nazareth's lead to 82-77.
After JCU's David Linane completed a three-point play with :32 left to trim Nazareth's lead to 82-80, Morse made another free throw with :18 left. Then after John Carroll misfired on a three-point shot in the closing seconds, Nazareth's
Colin McGlynn sank a pair of free throws with 1.7 seconds left to seal the victory.
The Blue Streaks, of University Heights, Ohio, raced to an early lead against the Golden Flyers and threatened to turn the game into a rout by taking a 24-10 advantage just 10 minutes into the game. Nadeau completed a three-point play for Nazareth with 5:26 left in the half to trim JCU's lead to 32-26 before the Blue Streaks pulled away again before settling for a 43-33 lead at halftime.
In the second half, Nazareth chipped away but still trailed by 11 points, 62-51, with less than 12 minutes to play. A 13-3 run, capped by Morse's short jumper in the lane, drew Nazareth within one point, 65-64, with 7:18 left. John Carroll countered with a 9-4 scoring run to go back on top by six, 74-68, with 4:30 left.
Nazareth stayed close as Nadeau hit a three-pointer and added a free throw and
Jack Mulcahy also connected from long range. After a John Carroll missed shot, Nazareth finally tied the score on a layup by Nadeau with 2:13 left. After a JCU turnover, Mills scored the go-ahead basket before fouling out 40 seconds later.
Mills made 11 of 21 shots from the field and went 6-for-7 from the foul line. He also had three blocked shots. Nadeau made 7 of 15 shots, including two three-pointers, and went 8 for 11 from the line. McGlynn played 24 minutes off the bench and finished with a career-high 10 points. Jackson finished with eight.
Nazareth made 29 of 62 shots from the floor (46.8 percent) and 22 for 33 from the foul line (66.7 percent). John Carroll got 20 points and 12 rebounds from Jake Hollinger and 19 points from Doug Caputo. The Blue Streaks went 31 for 72 from the field (42.5 percent) and 5 for 22 from three-point range. Nazareth had a 44-41 edge in rebounds.
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